Coding Tools & @Files

Pia can read, search, and edit text files for you — but only inside a folder you pick. Everything stays limited to that folder, so Pia can’t touch files anywhere else on your computer.

Choose a Folder

First, tell Pia which folder it’s allowed to work in.

1. Open Settings → Assistant
2. Find Assistant files folder
3. Click Browse… and pick a folder

That’s it — Pia can now work with files in that folder. Leave the folder empty to turn the file tools off completely.

Scope a Single Chat

Each chat can work in a subfolder of your main folder, which keeps things focused.

1. In the Assistant, click the chat title chip at the top
2. A flyout opens with a folder picker
3. Drill into a subfolder to scope that chat to it
4. Click the home icon to return to the top folder

Reference Files with @Files

You can pull a file’s contents straight into your message.

1. In the message box, type @Files followed by a file name
2. An autocomplete list shows matching files in the chat’s folder
3. Pick one to include its contents in your message

Pia then has the full text to work with — handy for asking questions about a document or having Pia rewrite part of it.

Review Changes Before They Happen

When Pia wants to change a file, it doesn’t just go ahead. An action card appears showing:

• The file path
• A colour-coded diff — green for added lines, red for removed lines

You then choose Decline or Allow once.

Caution

Writing and deleting files always need your approval, every single time — they’re never auto-approved. Read the diff before you click Allow once.

If a file changes on disk after Pia previewed it but before you approve, the change is blocked to keep things safe. Just ask Pia to read the file again and try once more.

Tool Permissions

Reading, searching, and listing files are safe, so they don’t need approval. For any standing permissions you’ve granted:

1. Open Settings → Tool access
2. You’ll see any “Always allow” grants for safe tools
3. Click Revoke next to any grant you want to remove

Good to Know

• File tools work on plain-text files. Binary files like images are skipped.
• Very large files may be skipped or trimmed.
• Your file contents stay on your computer. They aren’t uploaded anywhere unless you ask Pia to do so. See the Privacy guide for more on how Pia handles your data.

Next Steps

Learn more about chatting with the Assistant in the Assistant guide.